McQUARRIE HUNTER LLP
PROF I LES
of
E XC E L L E NC E
N
early 50 years ago, a merger of several lawyers’ offices
on Columbia Street in New
Westminster created what
has become one of the province’s leading law firms. McQuarrie Hunter
LLP was formed in offices at 713 Columbia St.
A secondary office owned by one of the
founders was maintained through the years
in Surrey, slowly growing along with the
main office. Three years ago, the McQuarrie
Hunter team came together under one
roof in a new tower at Central City but
its decades’ long ties to both cities – and
its service to customers throughout the
metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley region –
continues unchanged. “It was a big transition but a good one – the benefits of being in
one space are really immense,” notes managing partner Tako van Popta.
“Business continues to grow on both sides
of the Fraser and we’ve picked up our fair
share of that growth – and through the
Fraser Valley. People are discovering that
they don’t need to go downtown for a highend, high quality legal team,” he said.
transactions – has a positive experience at
the firm. “We hope we’ve shown them what
a law firm can do for them, that we can add
value – we don’t just solve their problems,
but we add value in the process,” he said.
As to the firm’s continued growth and success, Van Popta says that part of it is owed
to the environment at the company. “Work
hard, play hard, give hard,” he says. “Work
comes number 1 – we work incredibly hard
here for our clients, every client. But we tell
ourselves and our employees to also get out
there, have fun, find things to be passionate
about and take care of yourself. Workaholics
aren’t the most productive people – people
who are refreshed and excited to come to
work on Monday morning are.”
The “give hard” portion of that motto continues to impact both New Westminster and
Surrey, in the form of community involvement in a variety of ways, most notably
with significant and ongoing support for
both Royal Columbian Hospital and Surrey
Memorial Hospital, as well as scholarship
programs in both cities and individual
employee involvement on a variety of boards
and organizations.
“We like to say that we exceed our clients’
expectations, in the delivery of services but “That’s important to everyone here, it’s being
also in the quality of services,” he said. “We part of the communities, and it’s critical,”
think that excellence means that not just the he said. And the future looks even brighter,
lawyers on the file, but everyone involved, says Van Popta.
are informed and able to assist the clients
in every way necessary.”
“We have a goal of actually growing at a
faster rate than the city is growing, so we
At the end of the day, Van Popta says they maintain our dominant position – and to
hope that every client – be it an individual bring on the best people,” he said. “This is
requiring estate planning, family law servi- a great place to work, it’s a good place for
ces, or personal injury help, or a corporation young energetic lawyers to come and build
working through real estate or business a lifelong career.”
“We hope we’ve shown them
what a law firm can do
for them, that we can
add value – we don’t just
solve their problems.”
– Tako van Popta,
managing partner,
McQuarrie Hunter LLP
#1500 - CENTRAL CITY TOWER
13450 102ND AVENUE
SURREY, BC
TEL 604-581-7001
WEB MCQUARRIE.COM
photo:
Tako van Popta, managing partner, McQuarrie Hunter LLP
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